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Merefa

Merefa is a city in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Merefa hosts the administration of Merefa urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 21,202.

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Merefa
Мерефа
City
Flag of Merefa
Flag
Coat of arms of Merefa
Coat of arms
Map
Interactive map of Merefa
Merefa
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Merefa
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Coordinates: 49°49′N 36°03′E / 49.817°N 36.050°E / 49.817; 36.050
Country Ukraine
OblastKharkiv Oblast
RaionKharkiv Raion
HromadaMerefa urban hromada
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
21,202
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Merefa (Ukrainian: Мeрeфa, IPA: [meˈrɛfɐ] ⓘ) is a city in Kharkiv Raion, Kharkiv Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Merefa hosts the administration of Merefa urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.1 Population: 21,202 (2022 estimate).2

Name

Etymologists have not reached a final conclusion, but it is believed that the name originated from the Old Slavic "mьrRs" (to fade), which is derived from the Ukrainian merekhtyty (to flicker; barely visible). Another version is a hydronymic from "merecha" (Ukrainian for forest thicket; dense shrubbery in a swampy lowland), which is based on the Proto-Slavic "merRja" (Ukrainian for swampy place).3 Among the analogies is also merechytysia (to be seen), which is related to the root mereka ("delusion, ghost") derived from the Proto-Slavic morkъ (морок).4

History

It was a village in Kharkovsky Uyezd of Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire.

During the Ukrainian War of Independence, from 1917 to 1920, it passed between various factions. Afterwards it was administratively part of the Kharkiv Governorate of Ukraine.56

City since 1938.7

In January 1989 the population was 28,952 people.87 In 1992-1996, the Avangard football club of Merefa played in the national championship of Ukraine (third and second league in 1996/97) as a team that won the Kharkiv Oblast Football Championship (4 times in a row) and won prizes in transitional tournaments.

In January 2013 the population was 22,280 people.9

On March 17, 2022, at about 3:30 am, Russian servicemen shelled the town of Merefa, Kharkiv district, destroying a secondary school and a house of culture. 15 people were killed. 25 people were injured, 10 of them in serious condition.10

Demographics

Distribution of the population by ethnicity according to the 2001 census:11

Ethnic groups in Merefa
percent
Ukrainians
 
 85.20%
Russians
 
 12.65%
Gypsies
 
 0.62%
Belarusians
 
 0.25%
Armenians
 
 0.20%
Georgians
 
 0.14%
Tatars
 
 0.10%
Azerbaijanis
 
 0.06%

Transport

  • a railway station7
  • A school in Merefa
    A school in Merefa
  • Railway station
    Railway station
  • Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos
    Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos
  • Entrance to Avanhard Stadium
    Entrance to Avanhard Stadium
References

References

  1. "Мерефянская громада" (in Russian). Портал об'єднаних громад України.
  2. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  3. Етимологічний словник української мови : в 7 т. / редкол.: О. С. Мельничук (гол. ред.) та ін. — К. : Наукова думка, 1989. — Т. 3 : Кора — М / Ін-т мовознавства ім. О. О. Потебні АН УРСР; укл.: Р. В. Болдирєв та ін. — 552 с. — ISBN 5-12-001263-9.
  4. Лучик В. В.. Етимологічний словник топонімів України / В. В. Лучик; відп. ред. В. Г. Скляренко. — К. : ВЦ «Академія», 2014. — 544 с. (325 с.) — ISBN 978-966-580-454-3
  5. С. Хургін (1922). Адміністраційна Мапа Української Соц. Рад. Республіки (Map). 1:1,680,000 (in Ukrainian). Kharkiv: Народний комісаріат внутрішніх справ.
  6. Административная карта Украины (Map). 1:1,050,000 (in Russian). Народный комиссариат внутренних дел. 1923.
  7. Мерефа // Большой энциклопедический словарь (в 2-х тт.). / редколл., гл. ред. А. М. Прохоров. том 1. М., "Советская энциклопедия", 1991. стр.794
  8. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
  9. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2013 року. Державна служба статистики України. Київ, 2013. стор.100
  10. "Унаслідок ворожого обстрілу Мерефи 15 людей загинули, 25 поранені - прокуратура". Інтерфакс-Україна (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  11. "Національний склад міст". Datatowel.in.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-12-10.